How to Make Your Horse Melt June 30, 2008
Posted by kimayars Arena Work (Horse)
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It was not quite as hot as yesterday, but still pretty toasty. I had my lesson on Tigger today. It was interesting.
I opted not to lunge first as I was afraid it would just completely drain him. He seemed mellow and relaxed, so I took the chance. I went about our little process slowly, and got on. He stood still, but I could tell he was tense. I patted him. We waited. Then he took a step forward. Then he ran.
I was REALLY hoping we were over that, but apparently not. There were two things I had going for me: 1) My new saddle fits me really well, so I am better balanced for moments like this, and 2) I had a plan. I put him on a tight circle. When he relaxed, the circle got bigger. When he started racing again, the circle got smaller. Today he was going to discover that there is freedom in relxation. The “squirt” was over in less than a minute. I’ll take that.
The rest of the lesson was mostly spent with him fighting me. Not sure why as there were several things different about our ride (new pad, his buddies were out on pasture, still jazzed from his initial sprint). More than likely this was a symptom of our lack of consistent work. There was lots of head tossing and turning upside-down that he doesn’t usually do. We had two kind of cute shies at objects that have been there for MONTHS. Overall he was just being silly. I decided to ignore it and continue on.
About 30 minutes into the lesson he cried uncle. He was soft, relaxed and AWESOME. During the lesson we had re-introduced leg yields. His last one was the best he’s ever done. Seriously, it felt like we were floating.
So all-in-all it was a good ride even though he wasn’t perfect. We worked through our issues, ended on a success, and enjoyed some time with each other. Now I just need to do that more than once a week. 
Comments
Nope - horse riding still sounds pretty scary to me. I’ve never had a bike do any of those things.
Of course, when I read the title of this post, I assumed that you were making some comment about the weather, and it being too hot to ride really. If you ever feel that it is, but go ahead and ride anyway, take care, as its not impossible for the rider to melt, potentially causing damage to the bike. Sorry, I mean horse.
You have been so patient with Tigger, I am really cheering for you two
This happens to everyone. The best thing you did was stick with it and not let him get to you. He realized this and settled down and became the horse you both know he can be. I do love the spooking at familiar objects, I had a horse like this and I swear he did it just to get out of working. Congratulations on ending on a good note, and I’m sure if he gets worked more consistently,although I know it’s hard to find the time, he will come along in no time.